Chapter 5 #3
Ulayna frowns, looking crestfallen.
“I’ll have Phoenix take you,” he offers. His team member is fully capable of serving as Ulayna’s security and will offer better company than one of his men. Plus, the most skilled of his men are currently tied up in the new training program.
Ulayna perks up and smiles. “Okay. That sounds like fun.”
Alexi returns her smile. He appreciates that she never lets anything get her down for too long. Despite everything she’s been through, she somehow maintains a positive attitude.
He takes a slow sip of his wine, savoring the smoky, earthy notes of the robust red. His father’s taste in many things may have been atrocious, but the mansion’s wine cellar is nothing short of extraordinary.
“Phoenix will probably try to take you shopping afterward,” he warns, knowing shopping isn’t Ulayna’s favorite activity. “She’ll want to go to Oak Street Beach, then go to some of the luxury boutiques nearby.”
Ulayna smiles, with a secretive glint in her eye. “That’s fine.”
Alexi studies her again, trying to get a read on her. Something has definitely changed. He just hopes that whatever it is, it continues to be a positive change.
“Can I drive?” Ulayna asks.
“Absolutely not.” Alexi grimaces. “Phoenix will drive.”
They’ve managed to squeeze in a few more driving lessons in the past week. And it’s not that Ulayna is a bad driver. On the contrary, she’s exceptionally good. Frighteningly good.
He’s not afraid she’ll crash. It’s more likely that she’d get arrested for doing 120 miles per hour down the interstate. He’d rather not have to use his connections with the local police force for something as minor as a traffic violation.
Ulayna smirks at him like she knows exactly why he doesn’t want her driving.
—
Later that night, Ulayna jolts up in bed at the sound of breaking glass.
Reacting quickly, she throws the covers off and dives to the floor.
In a move that she’s practiced hundreds of times over the past week, she grabs the gun taped to the underside of the bedframe.
Rising to her knees, she aims it over the bed at the shadowy figure she can barely see standing on her balcony.
Slowly, the handle of the French door turns, and the intruder pushes the door open. Clearly, he’s already picked the lock.
A grinning Shade pokes his head inside. “Well done.” He nods his head toward the broken glass on the floor. “Simple. Effective.”
He steps the rest of the way into the room, but Ulayna keeps her gun trained on him.
If she’s learned anything this week, it’s to never assume the attack is over.
At least once a day, he’s attempted to sneak up on her and take her unaware.
Sometimes it’s while she’s sleeping. Other times, it’s in the middle of the day while she’s training with the other team members.
One day, he even accosted her as she walked to the kitchen to make breakfast.
He’s never hurt her, but he has opened her eyes to all the ways she is vulnerable. She’s had to become hyper vigilant to see him coming. And she’s had to get creative with her methods for keeping him at bay when she doesn’t.
Shade takes a seat at her bedroom vanity and holds his hands up where she can see them. “Now, let’s talk about methods to ensure that someone can’t climb onto your balcony in the first place.”
For the next hour, Shade lectures her on traditional security methods and guerrilla-warfare tactics she can use to secure her sleeping space.
She blinks rapidly, trying to stave off her drowsiness and absorb his lesson.
In the back of her mind, an idea takes shape. As he reminds her, again, that securing her sleeping area is highly important, she wonders how Hawk secures his bedroom.
She hasn’t had much luck trying to sneak up on him to steal the ring.
Her lessons with Shade are progressing well, but she has yet to even come close to meeting Hawk’s challenge.
Every time she thinks she’s getting close, he sees her coming.
And that’s when she can even find him. Most of the time, it seems like he simply disappears into thin air.
At this rate, she’ll never get the ring from him. Not unless she can use his methods against him.
Shade continues to lecture her about how she’s less effective when she’s sleep-deprived and how it’s impossible to remain vigilant all the time. He describes that everyone has to switch off and sleep at some point.
Ulayna smiles to herself, no longer listening to Shade’s lecture. What she needs to do is steal the ring from Hawk while he’s sleeping. Just like Shade is currently droning on about, everyone is vulnerable when they’re asleep. And that’s how she’s going to win against Hawk.
When Shade finally leaves, she takes a few minutes to clean up the broken glass and reset her low-tech alarm system with a new glass on the door handle. She wouldn’t put it past Shade to try to sneak in again, just to see if she had let her guard down.
As she relaxes back in bed, she resolves to find out where Hawk sleeps so she can plan how to sneak in.